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This thread has taken a downhill turn lol. I'm going to put things back into prespective:

1. I agree with BOTH SIDES. Originally I purchased an Impreza, realizing 2 months later, I wouldve been happier with a WRX. I had looked into swapping before, but didnt seriously research it until my impreza motor blew. (if there was a time to swap a motor, that was it, for sure.) People say to just sell your car and buy the wrx, but with a blown engine, that's hard to do. the amount of money I put into the swap would have been the same if I had bought a WRX from the start, anyway.

2. In regards to the other comments, Yes, It was very rewarding. to complete a swap like that, after blood, sweat and tears, was awesome. Putting the key in the ignition and driving my new found beauty for the first time was one of the happiest moments I've had in my short car ownership history. The car felt like a new animal, faster, more nimble, and way more fun to drive.

WITH THAT BEING SAID, just know that a lot has to be done to swap a car from a impreza to a WRX. If you feel like ponying up 6-8k (or even more depending on what your trying to accomplish) for a complete swap, then it's totally worth it in my opinion. If not, well...... tough cookies. Doing anything related to modding a car can get expensive.

Viper, I disagree with you that merging a harness is cutting corners. There is zero difference between my merged harness and an OEM one, other than mine doesn't have 10 year old rotting electrical tape.

Wires are wires and if its done properly and cleanly, there's no difference.

i guess its all in how its done.. but 99% of people hack up splicing jobs.. its all personal preference, and im not typically one to crap talk.. and i wasnt saying it in a bad way.. i can understand why people splice.. my orignal post was directed towards those who wanted to do a full oem conversion.. and that other guy tried to break apart everything i was saying.. telling people to cut corners.. which is fine, but that not what my post was about

I'm not saying that people should cut corners, but there are parts that you can splice in or fabricate instead of buying new ones.

It's hard to type neatly on a phone with lack of sleep, my point is that most of the time it's cheaper, more efficient, better value and less headache to buy.

I've done several swaps already, if you swap, be prepared to spend way more then planned and keep the car forever.

I'm talking from experience as I've done a more complex swap all by myself with limited information available at that point. Don't think that you know everything, because you will learn alot more when you actually swap it. What year is your harness? (price can be higher if buying with ecu, imob and key) you might need hvac set-up because it's not cable like older cars.

Don't forget to put oil in your engine (in cylinders) if it's sitting for a long time, and rotate it every once in a while. Also minor overhaul right before install would be nice if it sat for a long time (t-belt, idlers, water pump, plugs, rear main, valve gaskets, etc)

I'm talking from experience as I've done a more complex swap all by myself with limited information available at that point. Don't think that you know everything, because you will learn alot more when you actually swap it. What year is your harness? (price can be higher if buying with ecu, imob and key) you might need hvac set-up because it's not cable like older cars.

Don't forget to put oil in your engine (in cylinders) if it's sitting for a long time, and rotate it every once in a while. Also minor overhaul right before install would be nice if it sat for a long time (t-belt, idlers, water pump, plugs, rear main, valve gaskets, etc)

i never for a second acted like i know everything.. im still very new to subies, and dont know much at all... ive done several swaps in the past, but this is my first subie.. i only debate info i know.. otherwise i keep my mouth shut.. i dont argue just to argue.. i just like to make sure people have the right info.

i got an 06 STI swap going... i got the harness, ecu, immobilizer, ignition, and key for $250.. and that was the harness from heads to tails.. from S & S auto.. and yeah, HVAC is needed.. and i already have the full HVAC suitcase ready to go..as well as the AC lines that are different.

the engine was pulled about a month and a half ago.. so it should be fine. and yeah, all the maintenance stuff will get taken care of while the engine is out...plus give me time to source the oil leak the motor seems to have

i never for a second acted like i know everything.. im still very new to subies, and dont know much at all... ive done several swaps in the past, but this is my first subie.. i only debate info i know.. otherwise i keep my mouth shut.. i dont argue just to argue.. i just like to make sure people have the right info.

i got an 06 STI swap going... i got the harness, ecu, immobilizer, ignition, and key for $250.. and that was the harness from heads to tails.. from S & S auto.. and yeah, HVAC is needed.. and i already have the full HVAC suitcase ready to go..as well as the AC lines that are different.

the engine was pulled about a month and a half ago.. so it should be fine. and yeah, all the maintenance stuff will get taken care of while the engine is out...plus give me time to source the oil leak the motor seems to have

I just recently bought a 2006 2.5i that had a salvaged title and very low miles. The only thing that I hate about the car is that it is an automatic, I would love to swap it over to a 5-speed wrx. But, I'm not sure if this is even possible or how much money and time it would take to be able to do this. Do you have any idea if it is possible and if so, how much it would cost?

I just recently bought a 2006 2.5i that had a salvaged title and very low miles. The only thing that I hate about the car is that it is an automatic, I would love to swap it over to a 5-speed wrx. But, I'm not sure if this is even possible or how much money and time it would take to be able to do this. Do you have any idea if it is possible and if so, how much it would cost?

Yo man,

Check out my response on the first page:

Quote:

Originally Posted by radd269

Auto to manual is normally not too hard to do, but I honestly have no Idea on how hard it'll be with an '08/10 body. I used to own a 1995 Infinity G20, that I converted to a SR20DET/Manual from the Automatic and it was relatively simple. BUT DO RESEARCH ON THE AUTO TO MANUAL CONVERSION BEFORE YOU BLOW YOUR MONEY on the swap and feel violated.

Same response to you too. I have no Idea how much it costs. Research Auto-to Manual swaps before cannon-balling head first into the conversion pool.

A grrrreat company to call is ECS Performance (East Coast Swappers). They do all kinds of conversions, and provide REALLY good advice for free. (THEY HAVE A HOTLINE!) I would check with them to see what's required to do a Auto-to-manual swap.

Hey Man, I never took pics of that process; I should've now that you bring it up.

There are two ways you can go about this:

the first way (what I recommend, also what I did) is replace the entire fuel system. gut the inside of the car, including the floor carpets, seats (front and rear, and remove the seat brackets. once the carpeting is out of the car, you'll see the fuel lines that were running underneath the carpet on the driver side. they are pretty easy to remove.

What I did is I found a used 04 tank, fuel controller, fuel lines and fuel pump for like 50 bucks. since I wasnt sure what I could keep and what needed to be changed out at the time I replaced everything, including the tank, fuel pump controller, changed the fuel pump to a walbro.

route the new 3 fuel lines in the same place as the ones you take out and connect the controller and the pump to the appropriate wiring.

The second way to do this is just to add a custom return line. The 06 2.5i only has 1 fuel line because it is a return-less fuel system whereas the wrx has a return style fuel system, and its fuel regulator is on the fuel rail.

technically you can put something like a t-fitting on the pump line to the main pump and run another line that syncs up to the motor and have no issues.

Whichever is easier for you. keep in mind you if you go the second route, you will still need to replace the pump and assembly around it as the old pump won't pump enough fuel for a WRX/STi motor. If you are planning on modding the car later after the swap (eg, Cobb stage 1/2, or tuning ect) you might as well put in a walbro pump now.

great thread, I think I may be doing this in the future. I have an 04 rs I picked up for $4000 with a salvage title. I am going to try to find a good donor with some rear end damage for around $8000, and swap everything over. $12000 for an sti isnt too bad. I will also enjoy doing it all myself, and having rs insurance will be nice too. Maybe put a FMIC to make it a sleeper.

Yes. 2004+ Stis (USDM) have an ej257 engine. The EJ20X heads CAN go on an EJ25 but they bump compression. You should search for which one you want and what you are swaping them to (a n/a motor + low cc heads might make too high compression depending on what you are doing).

Are you talking about the bushings? If so I don't see why they shouldn't work.

I guess? I consider the motor mounts the rubber portion with the studs coming up through them. I work part time at a local NAPA so that's what I have always called them and I did not see them offer a different mount, based on either model or engine, so I made the assumption they were the same but wanted to make sure before making the decision to buy a pair

I presume the ones from an Sti are stiffer, so that's one way to go. There are aftermarket ones available too so that's another option. The Rallispec ones claim they fit impreza models, so that leads me to believe they are the same.

Good post! There aren't enuf "devils advocate" posts on engine swaps that go into detail on the extent of what is needed. Everyone either says "DON'T DO IT!!!" Or has very vague instructions on how they did it.

Good post! There aren't enuf "devils advocate" posts on engine swaps that go into detail on the extent of what is needed. Everyone either says "DON'T DO IT!!!" Or has very vague instructions on how they did it.

Thanks! That's the exact reason I wanted to put this together in the first place. Glad you like it.

I hope this thread not too old to bump, but I am hoping for some advice...
I have an 02 RS with a 07 WRX full engine and full wiring but still with the 02 RS transmission. After switching all the wiring and dropping in the engine and transmission, the wiring/ clips for the transmission don't match the 07 WRX transmission wiring. Does anyone know my options?

I hope this thread not too old to bump, but I am hoping for some advice...
I have an 02 RS with a 07 WRX full engine and full wiring but still with the 02 RS transmission. After switching all the wiring and dropping in the engine and transmission, the wiring/ clips for the transmission don't match the 07 WRX transmission wiring. Does anyone know my options?

My suggestion would be to email or call Brian at Iwire. He truly has a wealth of knowledge and has never steered me wrong.

I'm in the same position are the OP was before he made his swap. I have an 06 2.5 wagon with a bad bearing.

Based on what I've read here, having all the parts ahead of time is important and if you manage to get them all from the same vehicle, you're ahead of the game. So with that said, if I were able to pick up an entire car (at auction), would I be delusional in thinking the swap would be as easy as "unbolt here -- bolt-in here"?

The EJ-series swap thread lends me to believe that the interchangeability between mutliple vehicles is fairly simple but that thread was also posted a long time ago :P.

Just looking for more advice/input from the experience crowd we have here.

For reference, I have the opportunity to bid on a 2004 WRX wagon with "minor" corner impact.